Zongzi – Glutinous rice cakes wrapped in bamboo leaves 粽子

I love my folks and visiting them always includes many foodie highlights. This visit up, my mama taught me how to make zongzi, also known as rice pyramids, Chinese tamales, glutinous rice cakes and glutinous rice tamales.

Zongzi is traditionally eaten during the Dragon Boat Festival (Duanwu Festival 端午節) period, which falls on the 5th of the 5th on the lunar calendar. This festival commemorates the poet Qu Yuan 屈原. I remember this story well from my Chinese classes and storybooks and it’s one of those stories all Asians should know. This year 2012, it falls on the 23rd June.

“Qu Yuan (c. 340 BCE – 278 BCE) was a patriotic nobleman who served in court in the state of Chu 楚国, in the Warring States Period of the Zhou Dynasty 战国时代. However, after resisting the alliance with the corrupt state of Quin, Qu Yuan was banished. While living in exile, Qu Yuan spent his time writing poetry, becoming one of the most well-known Chinese poets throughout history. Sadly, 28 years later, the state of Chu was attacked and dominated by the state of Quin. After Qu Yuan heard the devastating news, he drowned himself in the Milo River 汨罗江 on the 5th of the 5th in 278 BCE. The locals, who admired his patriotism, made glutinous rice pyramids wrapped in bamboo leaves and threw them into the Milo River, in hopes that the fish in the river would eat the zhongzi and leave Qu Yuan’s body’s alone. The locals then searched for the body in boats and thus, the dragon boat race became a tradition to mark the occasion.”

Zongzi flavours and fillings vary from city to city and country to country. My family is from Tainan, which is south of Taiwan – the ingredients that my mama prepares are more on the savoury side and also, adapted for my family’s taste buds (I secretly add more pickled duck egg yolk and shiitake mushrooms to the ones I make). This dish is made with glutinous rice, which is also known as sticky rice, sweet rice, waxy rice, botan rice, mochi rice, biroin chal and pearl rice. Even though it’s called glutinous rice, like all rice types, it is also gluten-free.

Makes 10

Ingredients:

To prepare the zongzi requires quite a bit of time, as all the ingredients for the filling needs to be cooked before being encased in bamboo leaves and rice. For a vegetarian version, add more mushrooms and veto the shrimp and pork.

5 cups glutinous rice (soaked in warm water)

20 bamboo leaves (soaked in warm water)

1 tbsp Shallots mix (purchasable in Chinese stores)

Oil to fry shallots and to add to rice

10 shiitake mushrooms

1 tbsp dried shrimp

1 cup peanuts with husk (boiled, but intact)

2 strips of cooked pork rashers or pork belly (slice into 10 pieces)

½ cup soya sauce

1 tbsp sugar

10 strings

Method:

Add a tbsp of oil to the rice and water, this will prevent your zongzi from sticking to the bamboo leaves at the end.

Cut the mushrooms into halves and make sure to have already soaked them if they were dry.

Fry up the shallots and when it becomes golden brown with some oil, add the shrimp into the frying pan for another few minutes.

This is the tricky part (see steps). Place two bamboo leaves, with the shiny side facing upwards, on top of each other, opposite ways. Fold it 4/5ths of the way to the right, with the right end on the inside and the left holding it on the outside.

Drop in a few peanuts, then press it down gently with a tbsp of rice.

Add the filling in – 2 mushroom halves, a yolk, shallots and shrimp, and pork.

Fill it to just under the brim with rice, making sure there are no air spaces in between.

[…] Zhongzi is traditionally eaten during the Dragon Boat Festival (Duanwu Festival 端午節) period, which falls on the 5th of the 5th on the lunar calendar. This festival commemorates the poet Qu Yuan 屈原. I remember this story well from my Chinese classes and storybooks and it’s one of those stories all Asians should know. On the 12th of June, it was the start to The Dragon Boat Festival, which starts on the 5th of the 5th of the Chinese Lunar Calendar. Read up more about the story of Qu Yuan on the original post. […]

[…] Zhongzi is traditionally eaten during the Dragon Boat Festival (Duanwu Festival 端午節) period, which falls on the 5th of the 5th on the lunar calendar. This festival commemorates the poet Qu Yuan 屈原. I remember this story well from my Chinese classes and storybooks and it’s one of those stories all Asians should know. On the 12th of June, it was the start to The Dragon Boat Festival, which starts on the 5th of the 5th of the Chinese Lunar Calendar. Read up more about the story of Qu Yuan on the original post. […]